An Individual Business Model in the Making: a Chef’s Quest for Creative Freedom

Abstract

This article extends the study of business models by exploring a type rarely considered – the individual business model – and investigates the set of activities, organizing, and strategic resources individuals employ to create and capture value while pursuing their interests and motivations. Insights are drawn from an in-depth longitudinal inductive case study to examine the triggers, mechanisms and changes in the evolving individual business model developed by chef and gastronomic innovator Ferran Adria. His quest for creative freedom is identified as the main trigger across four periods of business model evolution, and creative responses as the principal mechanism driving business model changes. Period-specific triggers – such as the quests for authenticity, recognition and influence - and mechanisms including alertness, intent, codification, decoupling and balancing core and periphery - are specified as business model changes are outlined. Distinction is made between the creation, capture, sharing and slippage of value, and implications are proposed for the development of individual business models by professionals and other ‘creatives’.